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THE AK47 assault rifle is the world鈥檚 most recognisable firearm. The brainchild of the self-taught Russian engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov, its elegantly simple system of operation and robust construction have ensured it remains in worldwide use 60 years after it was created.

In Kalashnikov鈥檚 words, as soon as it appeared on the world stage the AK47 became a 鈥済olem鈥�, taking on a life of its own. It is now and has become an iconic artefact, emblematic of revolutionary struggle or terrorism (depending on your view of its user), or a status symbol for a member of a street gang. Its silhouette adorns everything from CD covers and T-shirts to national flags. Having a history replete with interest, both technical and political, the gun is crying out for someone to publish a serious study of its cultural and psychological significance. Unfortunately AK47: The story of the people鈥檚 gun is not it.

鈥淚ts silhouette adorns everything from CDs to national flags鈥�

Michael Hodges is a journalist, so it comes as no surprise to find that his book is written in a relentlessly journalistic style. What jars, however, is the author鈥檚 imperfect understanding of the characteristics, history of development and tactical and technical contexts of the weapon whose story he purports to tell.

There is only the briefest mention of the variants of the original AK47 rifle that now make up an international family of Kalashnikov derivatives and copies. Most of the guns mentioned in the book will be one of these and not the original AK47. Worse, no mention is made of the 1970s redesign of the system to fire a new 5.45-millimetre cartridge. This produced the AK74 variant and proved a fundamental factor in prolonging the service life of the Kalashnikov system.

While Hodges makes many references to the devastating power of the AK47 to wound, in fact the original AK ammunition was one of the most benign of post-war cartridges in terms of its terminal ballistics, causing damage that could almost be described as 鈥渕ild鈥� compared with other similar firearms. Only when it was redesigned as the AK74 did the Kalashnikov become as devastating as other equivalent weapons.

The information presented by Hodges on other weapons is no more sound. Most notably, the story of the development of the American M16 rifle is garbled.

The book provides a broad-brush survey of the cultural impact of the weapon and its elevation to icon and global brand. However, its format prevents this from being presented as a coherent thesis. The eight chapters are loosely linked pieces of reportage, redolent of colour-supplement feature articles, about places where AKs have been used and people who have used them. Internal contradictions suggest that these were stitched together in haste. On page 1, for example, we are told that the AK is 鈥渉eavy to carry鈥� but by page 18 it has become 鈥渋ncomparably light鈥�. On page 60 the selector lever setting for semi-automatic fire is reported as 鈥渙ne click鈥� down. On page 125 the correct settings are given.

Poor proofreading also indicates haste, with spellings such as 鈥渃apitol鈥� (for capital) and Kurtz (for Kurz). The chapter dealing with the early life of the gun鈥檚 inventor is interesting and atmospheric, but appears to lean heavily on Kalashnikov鈥檚 own memoir: From a Stranger鈥檚 Doorstep to the Kremlin Gates.

The inescapable impression is that the book鈥檚 title constitutes a rather strained attempt to give unity to a disparate group of articles. Although Hodges fails to offer us much in the way of analysis, he is a willing participant in the making of the AK myth, while simultaneously using the AK brand to market his own journalism.